


Flirting Around the Christmas Tree

by Sheisme



Category: The 100 (TV), clexa - Fandom
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Clexa, Clexmas, Clexmas20, F/F, Rockin around the Christmas tree
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:08:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28199634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sheisme/pseuds/Sheisme
Summary: Lexa takes a seasonal job working at her uncle's Christmas tree lot, despite not being a huge fan of the holiday. Enter Clarke - the beautiful, boisterous girl who loves all things Christmas, and asks Lexa to help her find the perfect tree.Did I mention Lexa has to sell this beautiful girl a tree while dressed as an elf?Just a fluffy, flirty Christmas story.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin & Lexa, Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Comments: 31
Kudos: 387





	Flirting Around the Christmas Tree

Lexa removes her gloves and picks off the pine needles stuck to them. She would try to get the sap off, but that would be a futile task. It’s not too cold out, so she welcomes the fresh air on her sore hands. When she finishes pulling the needles off, she looks up and sees a little boy around eight years old staring at her. She’s not great with kids, but she told herself she would put that aside for the holiday season, so she smiles at him. His response is to laugh and point at her and Lexa’s smile turns into a scowl. She looks down at the reason for his laughter. Her elf costume really is quite ridiculous. She has half a mind to call “Santa” on her phone within the boy’s earshot and tell Santa what a little brat he is and that he shouldn’t get any presents this year. But Lexa made a promise to her uncle Gustus, who runs the Christmas tree lot she’s working at. He made her swear that she would not act like a Grinch or a Scrooge. Lexa thinks for a moment that she never promised him she wouldn’t act like Krampus and just take this kid out, but she doesn’t want to let Gustus down. Plus, she needs the money. 

Every year, Gustus asks Lexa to help him sell trees at his Christmas tree lot and every year, Lexa declines. Lexa has never been very big on Christmas. As Ebenezer Scrooge would say, “I don’t make myself merry at Christmas.” She’s not against the holiday in general, she just hates the hustle and bustle of it all. Bratty kids screaming for presents, exhausted parents snapping at each other, selfish ingrates who beat each other up over the last discounted big screen TV just hours after giving thanks with their loved ones. She prefers to celebrate privately at home with a cup of hot cocoa, warm socks and her dog, Smalls. 

When her uncle asked her once again this year, he was quite surprised when she said yes. Money has been tight lately and she has bills to pay. Plus, Gustus said she can earn commission on top of her hourly pay, so she couldn’t quite turn down this opportunity. What he failed to mention to her was her required “uniform.” All the lot employees (which basically include a few local college students who work part-time and Lexa’s cousin Anya) are required to wear holiday garb. Since it’s Anya’s dad who owns the lot, he lets her get away with just wearing a Santa hat and a reindeer sweatshirt. When Lexa informed Gustus that she didn’t have anything Christmasy to wear, he provided her with the lovely ensemble she’s currently wearing. She could handle the green felt top. She could even handle the red shorts and striped tights. But the pointy ears, green pointy hat and jingle bell shoes? Let’s just say if there was a hell, Lexa is sure this would be the official costume. 

It’s not a bad gig. It’s pretty easy to sell Christmas trees to people who are actually looking for Christmas trees. Usually Gustus or one of the eager part-time employees do the hard part and load the trees in the cars, but tonight is different. Anya has called out sick even though Lexa knows for a fact Anya has a date and the part-timers aren’t scheduled tonight, so it’s just Lexa making the sales and Gustus doing the heavy lifting while also working the register. 

Normally, she wouldn’t complain since tonight isn’t that busy and that means not too many people have to see her in this elf getup. But when Lexa rounds the corner while putting her gloves back on, she stops in her tracks when she sees a strikingly beautiful blonde browsing for trees. Lexa’s first instinct is to hide behind the blue spruce that’s next to her because she does not want this girl to see her dressed like a reject from the North Pole. She only hides for a moment when she realizes she’s the only one selling tonight, so she has to eventually face her at some point. She would take off her stupid elf hat, but Gustus already scolded her once for doing that and while her uncle is usually pretty nice, he’s not someone you want to piss off. 

She steps out from behind the tree and takes another look at the girl. If possible, she’s even more beautiful than she was just a moment ago. She’s decked out in a ridiculously gaudy holiday sweater with llamas and pugs on it. The front of the sweater reads “Fa La La La Llama” and Lexa tries to hide her laughter. But when the girl turns around, Lexa’s laugh becomes audible because the back of her sweater reads “Bah Humpug.” When the girl hears Lexa laughing, she turns around and looks at her quizzically. 

“Something funny?”

“Your sweater.”

The girl looks down at her sweater and then back up at Lexa. “Really? You’re gonna laugh at my wardrobe choices?”

Lexa immediately feels bad.

“I didn’t...I mean...I…”

The girl laughs heartily and walks up to Lexa.

“I’m kidding. I know it’s a silly sweater but I love it.” She looks Lexa up and down. “Besides, I think the elf costume is kinda cute. Though, you’re kind of tall for an elf.”

“It was that growth spurt when I was twelve.”

Lexa tries to play it cool, but everything inside of her is a mess. 

“So do you have a name or should I just call you Legs the Elf?”

“Huh?”

“Legs...because you’re taller than the average elf.”

“Ohhh...um...Lexa.” She reaches her hand out.

“Clarke. Nice to meet you, Lexa.” They shake hands and Clarke takes just a little bit too long to pull her hand away. She starts opening and closing her hand, like there’s something stuck on it.

“Oh, sorry.” Lexa holds up her gloved hand. “Tree sap. I’m afraid you’ll be sticky for days.”

Clarke smiles. “If that’s a pickup line, it’s a bit too forward. We just met.”

Lexa realizes the double entendre and wants to kick herself.

“Oh, no! That’s not what I meant at all. I was just…”

“I’m kidding.” 

Clarke’s smile disarms her and Lexa forgets where she is for a second.

“So...I’m in the market for a tree. A Christmas one. Know where I can get one?”

When Clarke starts slowly moving down the aisle, Lexa snaps out of it and follows her.

“Uh...yeah. We’ve got trees of all sizes for all holiday occasions.”

“Good. Because I’m hosting a big Christmas party and I need the perfect tree for it.”

“Ah...a party tree. For people to rock around.”

“Exactly.” Clarke does a little shimmy and it makes Lexa a bit dizzy. “I have a party every year. It’s kind of famous in my little circle. I serve mini pizza bagels. They’re always the biggest hit, even if I have gourmet style food next to them. Everyone goes for the damn pizza bagels.”

“It’s a holiday classic,” replies Lexa as she casually strolls next to Clarke. “So, you’re a big fan of Christmas, huh?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Not really?”

“But...you’re an elf.”

“At my employer’s insistence.”

Clarke stops in front of a 9-foot douglas fir tree. Lexa watches as her eyes light up.

“This is it. This is my tree.”

“Yeah?”

“How much?”

Lexa wants to give her a discount even though she knows Gustus would be livid. Still, the excitement in Clarke’s eyes is actually melting Lexa’s cold, grinchy heart.

“Normally it’s $140, but I can give it to you for $100.”

Clarke looks at her dubiously. “Do you work on commission?”

“Yeah…”

“Then $140 it is!” 

Lexa tries not to smile too big as she writes out a sales slip and hands it to Clarke.

“Bring this to the front and you can pay there.”

Usually, Lexa tells the customers that after paying, Gustus will carry the tree to their car for them, but she finds herself wanting to impress Clarke in the stupidest way possible.

“I can carry it to your car for you. Tie it up and everything.”

Clarke stands back and takes another look at Lexa.

“Are you sure? This is a pretty huge tree.”

“I’ve done it before. I’m stronger than I look.”

“Okay then.” She points to the parking lot. “I borrowed my friend’s truck. It’s that blue one over there.”

Lexa braces herself. She knows it’s going to be heavy, but she also knows that Clarke makes her heart flutter and her stomach do weird, twisty things. She grabs the trunk of the tree in two different places and lifts with her legs. It’s only a matter of seconds before she falls backwards and lands on the ground with a thud as the tree crashes on top of her. She thinks she can hear faint laughter before the tree is rolled off of her and Clarke is standing over her, reaching out her hand to help her up.

“Well look at that. Santa left me a cute, flustered, stubborn elf covered in dirt and sap under my tree.”

It would be a cute line if Lexa didn’t want to die of embarrassment. Avoiding eye contact with Clarke, she gets up and runs to find Gustus to have him carry the tree. Then, she hides out of sight until Clarke has left, thankful she wouldn’t have to face her again. 

\--

The next day, Lexa tries to brush off the memory of the previous day’s embarrassment. She shows up to work on time and with a clean elf costume, courtesy of the one-hour cleaners down the street from her apartment. Thankfully, Anya’s actually here today to help lighten the workload, but Lexa refuses to tell her why she’s so quiet today.

“It’s a girl, isn’t it?” asks Anya, as they flock a few trees to make them a nice, snowy white color. 

“What?”

“Only a pretty girl can make you this brooding and contemplative.”

Lexa rolls her eyes while secretly hating how well Anya knows her. 

“Not gonna tell me about her?” 

Lexa relents, only slightly.

“She was cute. Funny, bubbly, quick-witted.”

“Ah, the antithesis of you.”

Lexa aims the flocking spray at her as a playful warning. “Don’t make me.”

“Fine, fine.” Anya looks past Lexa. “Customer. I’ll take this one. You stay here and brood.”

Lexa makes a face and turns to watch her leave. That’s when she spots Clarke in the distance and realizes she’s the customer Anya was talking about. Frantically, she looks around for a safe haven before finally deciding to dive behind the fake plastic Rudolph decoration to her right. When she lands, the can of flocking spray rolls away from her and directly to Anya’s feet, who is now staring down at Lexa like she’s insane.

“Uh...the customer asked if the “stubborn elf” is working today. I’m assuming she means you.”

Lexa looks up at Anya sheepishly.

“Oh my God, that’s her, isn’t it? That’s the girl!”

“Shhh! Not so loud!”

“Since when do you avoid pretty girls seeking you out?”

“It’s a long story.”

“I’ll get the details later. Go help her and stop being so weird.”

Lexa stands up and rounds the corner to see Clarke standing there in yet another festive Christmas sweater. This one has an avocado wearing a Santa hat that says “Jingle Bell Guac.”

Clarke smiles upon seeing her.

“Hey. I was wondering if I would see your cheery face today.”

Lexa can feel the tips of her ears burning. She starts rubbing the back of her neck.

“Uh...yeah. I’m here. Hi.” 

“Hi.”

“Is something wrong with the tree we sold you?” The very mention of that tree has Lexa cringing. 

“Oh no. Not really. I just came here to buy a tree stand. The one I got wasn’t sturdy enough.”

“I can help you with that. We’ve got plenty of those. I think I know the right size you need.”

Clarke follows her to the tree stands and Lexa can feel the girl’s gaze on her. Lexa catches her eyes and Clarke shyly looks away.

“You feeling okay?” asks Clarke.

“Yeah. Why do you ask?”

“No bruises or soreness from your fall?”

Lexa throws her head back dramatically. 

“I was hoping you’d forgotten.”

“Pretty hard to forget a visual like that. A cute girl putting herself in harm’s way to just impress me?”

Lexa can feel her insides turning. Did she just say “cute girl?”

“I’m fine.”

“Still grumpy, though, I see.”

“I haven’t had the best week.”

“Sounds like someone needs to sing a Christmas carol,” suggests Clarke.

Lexa just looks at her blankly. “What?”

“To cheer you up. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

Lexa’s not exactly sure how to respond to that. She’s not used to people speaking to her in rhyme.

“Uh....here are all of our stands.” She picks one up and hands it to Clarke. “This is probably the best size for your tree.”

Clarke looks disappointed in her. “Oh come on!.”

“What?”

“It’s from Elf. The movie?”

Suddenly, the rhyming makes more sense. 

“Ohhh. I haven’t seen it.”

“That can’t be possible.”

Lexa shrugs. “The only christmas movie I really like is Die Hard.”

“Die Hard is not a Christmas movie.”

“Sure it is.”

“Nope. It’s not. It’s a movie that takes place AT Christmas, but it’s not a Christmas movie.”

Lexa stands squarely to face her. “Is that the hill you wanna die on?”

Clarke accepts her challenge and steps closer. “No, it’s the hill I wanna Die Hard on.”

After a brief moment, Lexa smiles at her. ““You said hard on.”

Clarke laughs and Lexa is now pretty sure she’s hopelessly in love.

\--

The next day, Lexa isn’t as grumpy. There’s even a spring in her step. Granted, Clarke left shortly after their encounter, but it left Lexa feeling hopeful. Even if she never sees the girl again, she appreciates how much Clarke made her laugh and how even her teasing was done in a gentle way.

It’s when she’s writing up a sales slip for a family of four who just found their tree that Lexa see’s Clarke practically skipping down this row of trees, wearing a different Christmas sweater than yesterday. This one lights up. It’s a Christmas tree with lots of twinkling lights on it with the words “It’s Lit” across it. It’s tacky and gaudy, but Lexa can’t help but wonder where Clarke gets all of these sweaters because now she kind of wants one. 

“The stand didn’t work?” asks Lexa.

“It works great. No leaning or anything. I actually came here for a different reason.”

Lexa’s heart flutters in her chest. If Clarke isn’t here for a tree or a stand, then that must mean she’s here for…

“Fake snow,” exclaims Clarke.

“What?”

“That white spray stuff. I want it for my tree. It’ll make it feel like a white Christmas.”

“Oh.” Lexa tells herself she’s not disappointed, but she’s always been a bad liar. “You can get those over there at the register.”

“Great! Thank you.” Clarke doesn’t leave just yet. “By the way, I watched Die Hard last night.”

“You did?” Lexa is genuinely surprised.

“Yeah.”

“And?”

Clarke smiles at her and bites her lip. “I stand by my original statement. But I will agree that movie is pretty badass.”

“Fair enough.” Lexa decides it’s time to confess a little secret to Clarke. “It just so happens that I watched Elf last night.”

“You did not!” Clarke playfully pushes Lexa.

“I did.”

“And?”

“Die Hard is better. But I did find it rather enjoyable. It made me laugh.”

“Good.”

“Kinda like you,” Lexa mumbles, but she’s not sure Clarke heard it. 

“Well, I gotta run. Nice seeing you again.” Clarke runs towards the register and Lexa chuckles when she sees what’s on the back of Clarke’s sweater. It’s another tree and underneath, it says “Junk in the Trunk.”

\--

The next day, Lexa is far too busy to wonder whether or not Clarke will return, needing to buy some mundane item she needs for her tree, like tinsel or ornament hooks. Okay, so maybe the thought has crossed her mind a few hundred times and maybe she keeps scanning the area for any sign of her, but her main focus is on today’s event. Today is the day Gustus dresses up as Santa Claus and all the kids in town come to visit for a picture with Santa. The display is set up nicely - fake snow, a giant red throne-like chair for Santa to sit in, fake life-sized reindeer, and a freshly decorated tree. Lexa and Anya spent most of the morning helping Gustus set it up. Gustus has been in a good mood all day. He loves playing Santa. So Lexa tried her luck this morning and asked if she could skip wearing the elf costume just for today. If for some reason Clarke does come by, Lexa would like the chance for Clarke to see her in regular clothes...tight jeans...maybe a little makeup. His answer was a firm “no.” Today is the day he needs his “elf” more than ever. She needs to assist with the kids, organize the line, and hand out candy canes, on top of selling trees. Anya gets the lucky job of taking photos, barely having to interact with anyone. Sometimes it pays to be the boss’s daughter.

It’s been a long day and it’s finally getting dark out. Santa’s Village is winding down, soon to close at 6:00pm and Lexa can go back to just selling trees. Though, she finds she doesn’t quite hate today’s work as an elf. Some of those kids are pretty damn cute. She even caught Anya smiling at some of them. 

When the last kid in line jumps off of Santa’s lap and runs to her mom, Lexa goes to post the “Closed” sign at the line’s entrance. 

“Wait! We have one more visitor for Santa!” 

Lexa turns and sees a young brunette woman running toward her, waving her hands. Lexa looks around.

“Where’s the kid?”

The woman tilts her head. “Kid? Hell no, my friend back there wants to see Santa. I’m just her ride.”

Lexa looks past her to see Clarke jogging toward them - this time she’s wearing a bright green, red, and white sweater with sequins and a cute little elf on it. The sweater reads “When I think about you, I touch my elf” and Lexa can feel her ears turning red again. This is one time she doesn’t mind wearing the fake elf ears. Clarke is also wearing a cute beanie with snowmen on it.

“Hey there,” Clarke greets her, then looks to her friend. “Thanks Raven. I didn’t think I was gonna make it.”

“Happy to help. Oooh! Candy canes! Score!” Raven runs off to the basket of candy canes near Anya. 

“You’re here to see Santa?” 

Clarke reaches up to playfully grab at the tip of her elf ear. 

“Of course. What’s Christmas without a visit to see Santa? ...And his little elf. I would have come sooner but my car has been in the shop and I needed a ride.”

Lexa smiles in return. “Well I’m glad you made it in time. So you’re gonna sit on his lap and everything?”

“I mean...unless you’re offering your lap to sit on?”

Lexa’s heart is practically beating out of her chest as she tries to think of a clever and flirty comeback. Unfortunately, she takes a little too long and Clarke gives her a little wink and runs off to go sit on Santa’s lap. All Lexa can do is watch her as she jumps on Gustas and whispers something in his ear. He looks over to Lexa, then back at Clarke as Clarke keeps whispering to him. He nods and strokes his fake beard. Lexa turns to Anya for help, but she’s busy talking to Clarke’s friend. 

She doesn’t even care that she’s full-on staring at Clarke’s interaction with Gustus. She knows she’s not imagining the smiles and flirtatious one-liners Clarke has thrown her way. She takes this moment to try to build up the confidence to ask the girl out. It would be nice to have Anya’s help, but the giggling she hears in the distance is proof that Anya’s sole focus is on Raven. Normally Lexa has no problem with asking a girl out, but most girls have never made Lexa speechless…or fall on her ass with a tree landing on her. For some reason, Clarke scrambles her brain until she can no longer function as a normal human. At least not without making a complete ass of herself. Lexa is convinced it’s the elf costume. This stupid outfit has been her undoing all along and if Clarke says yes to a date, she intends on wearing the sexiest clothes she owns. 

She hears Gustus’s boisterous laugh as Clarke hops off his lap and goes bounding toward Raven and Anya, all while sending Lexa another wink. Gustus, taking off his Santa hat, gets up and walks toward Lexa.

“Well, my lovely niece, it’s been another successful year playing Santa. And you’ve been such a big help. Today and every other day. I’ve decided to give you tomorrow night off. With pay.”

Lexa is taken aback. “Really?”

“Yeah. Consider it a Christmas present.”

“Wow. That’s really nice of you. Thank you. I gotta say, that’s a pretty decent present.”

“I didn’t say it was your Christmas present.” He looks over at Clarke. “She told me the only thing she wants for Christmas is for you to have tomorrow night off work.”

“She did? Why?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you should go ask her.” 

Gustus pats her on the shoulder and walks away as Clarke approaches her. 

“Hey!”

“Hi Clarke.”

“So did Santa grant my Christmas wish?”

“As a matter of fact, he did. Thank you for getting me the night off. And with pay. That’s impressive.”

“Well, you said you needed the money and I didn’t want you to lose any. But I do have one more present I’m asking for.”

Lexa grins. “What’s that?”

“Will you be my date to my Christmas party? It’s tomorrow night.”

Lexa feels her insides warm up. It takes all her resolve not to excitedly hug Clarke right here, right now. She manages to restrain herself. 

“Do I have to wear one of those tacky Christmas sweaters?”

“I mean, you don’t have to wear anything at all, if you don’t want to. But then I might have to hide you in my room until the party’s over.”

“It’s a date. You’ll have to tell me where you get those so I can come dressed properly..”

“You can borrow one of mine.” Clarke takes Lexa’s hand. “Now, can you show me where I can buy some mistletoe?”

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to follow me on tumblr @sheis-me


End file.
